The turbulent 2017 general election thrust Nerima Wako-Ojiwa into the limelight.
Her eloquence and deep understanding of the Kenyan political landscape charmed many youths who ask themselves just how one would have such enviable political insight at such a young age.
They look up to Nerima as the epitome of change in youth politics. To many, she is not just a political analyst but an oasis of hope for youths budding in politics.
Nerima is the Executive Director of Siasa Place – a political hub for women and youth where they learn about governance, the constitution and electoral processes.
Her husband, Billian Ojiwa, the National chairman KANU Youth Congress, has been her pillar of support throughout her endeavour to bring forth issued based politics in Kenya.
Political analyst Nerima Wako-Ojiwa with her husband Billian Ojiwa. [Source: Nerima Wako-Ojiwa]
Born and bred in Nairobi’s Ngong road area, the 29-year-old describes herself as “simple and laidback”. She schooled at St Nicholas Primary School and later to the Aga Khan Academy in Parklands but had feared she would never pull through Kenya’s current 8-4-4 system.
She requested her parents to enrol her for the British curriculum which they obliged to.
“The British system is big on community service and this is where I discovered I want to be because I knew I always wanted to help people,” she says with a grin on her face during an interview.
After completing her high school studies, she got a scholarship and joined Jacksonville State University in Alabama, USA where she studied Journalism and Sociology. She got another scholarship and did her master’s in Public Administration.
While in the US, she narrates, she realised that every country has issues stemming from its political setting.
“It was around 2008 when Obama was elected the US President and racism here was real. My eyes opened because I realised that every country has its own issues.”
She later moved to Washington where she worked for Common Ground – an organisation fostering peace in countries marred by destructive conflict - but returned to Kenya in 2013 after Common Ground opened offices in Kenya. This is when Siasa Place was born.
Within her second year after her return from the US, she was challenged by a friend and the drive to have a platform where youths would actively and openly engage in political matters drove her to the edge.
With no office or funding to set up an office, Nerima and a few like-minded people would meet at a coffee shop in town where they would discuss political issues and the role Kenyan youths play in shaping the country’s political landscape.
Out of sacrifice, today’s much-touted Kenyan political hub for youth and women is as a result of meticulous “planning and dedication; consistency and discipline.”
But what is it that she wants to change? “The country doesn’t trust their youth. There is the “ageism” mentality and this is the narrative Siasa Place seeks to change.”
In the next five years, she will resign as SP’s Executive Director and let to another youthful mind steer the organisation.
Does she have any political ambitions? “I don’t see political ambition in my future but I am open,” she replies.
However, she would be delighted to serve in the Youth Affairs and Gender Ministry or the National Youth Service (NYS) because much can be done here in shaping the future of generations to come.
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